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Originally Posted by Elfwreck
Not "a right" in the way that "civil unbiased treatment" is a right, but a right like education and roads are a right... once the state has enough money to support them, everyone is better off if everyone has access to them. Restricting them to the wealthy and elite serves only to maintain unnecessary divisions between "haves" and "have-nots," causing strife and jealousy and anguish.
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How is not providing public funding for anything "restricting" and maintaining divisions? As long as everyone is treated equally under the law then whatever advancements they make to their own personal happiness is up to them. Remember that I said I really don't understand the collectivist point of view, you assert that its better if everyone has these services but don't say why? It would be better if I had a million dollars but does that justify me robbing a bank for it?
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*Children: The US has an increasing populace that believes children are an expensive hobby, and those who can't afford to bear the full costs of that hobby--financial and emotional--shouldn't have them. There is an incredible callousness towards the children living in poverty or with a single parent, as if they had no inherent right to live, and therefore of course shouldn't be provided comfortable homes, good education, or healthcare.
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Even without immigration, the US has a higher birthrate then any EU country. In fact it has the highest birthrate in the industrialized world. Of course we encourage to be reproductively responsible but callous toward those who don't...where did you get that from?
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Originally Posted by Kostas
Same applies to education. Is education a human right?
Isn't "free" education provided to everyone in the states?
Though not free, cos' it costs to build schools and pay teachers.
Are taxes taken forcefully by governments = theft? Strange POV.
What taxes serve for if not for this kind of public goods? For bank bailouts??
According to many international reviews and classifications (UN, WEF,...), Sweden is one of the world's most competitive and with best living standard countries, though taxes are perhaps the highest in the world.
There are real scale economies when public money is well managed and spend.
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"Same applies to education. Is education a human right?" No. It is provided for free but the US is partially collectivist.
As for taxes=theft...how is that strange? If a thief on the street threatens you harm if you don't give him money thats theft...why is it different when the government does the same? If that thief tells you not to worry, the money is going to feed the homeless, does that make it any less a theft?
As for your comparisons to the UN (why does anyone care about them) and Sweden, again if bank robbing works for me that means its ok for me to do it? The question we're asking ourselves here isn't if it can be done, the reason is should it? I have yet to see someone here bring a reasoned, philosophical argument as to why we should have socialized healthcare.